
CALENDAR
Continuedfrom page 4 Benjamin West and his Amer- was repressed in the Soviet Union.
lean Studentsis currently at the No longer able to support such
assembled by an international National Portrait Gallery, through fantastic projects for public build-
group of scholars. Its subject is January 4, 1981, F Street at 8th, ings, or production in factories,
"history painting," or paintings of Washington, D.C. the nation forced its proponents to
Biblical and religious, ancient his- confine their fantasies to the cin-
tory and mythical, and allegorical It was exactly the style of his- ema and theater. By the end of the
scenes, often done to commemo- tory painting that ambitious decade, the movement existed
rate particular historical events or American artists such as John only in emigr_ circles outside Rus-
individuals. Trumbull, Charles Wilson Peale sia.
Many of the paintings come and his sons, were attempting to
from their original locations in reproduce in their paintings of the Expressionism: A German In-
Dutch town halls, where they period of the American Revolu- tuition1905-1920, November 4,
were hung as public monuments, tion. One hundred and. ten paint- 1980-January 19, 198I, the Solomon
Such paintings were held at the ings, assembled from collections Guggenheim Museum, 5th Avenue at
time to be the highest achievement throughout the United States, in- 89th Street, New York.
in art, although except for the clude both portraits and historical
very greatest masters, Dutch artists scenes. This exhibit, being built up as
did not equal what was achieved a major event for the art world, is
in Italy. The outstanding works in an attempt to revive the credibility
this exhibit are are by Rembrandt, Twentieth Century Art of Expressionism, until recently
Ter Brugghen, Jan Steen, and discredited by its clear association
Vermeer. The Russian Avant-Garde, with pre-Nazi Germany.
There is an additional pleasure 1910-1930; November 20, 1980- This "moven_ent" certainly
for the viewer attending the ex- February 5, 198I, The Hirshhorn contributed to the psychological
hibit in Washington. The Na- Museum, Independence'Avenueat 8th conditions that led to Nazism. In-
tional Gallery, in order to accom- Street, NW, Washington, D.C. deed, the deliberate abstraction
odate the show,, moved its and distortion of all form and con-
permanent collection of Dutch art This is a major exhibit. 250tent in paintings by these artists set
into the galleries of the new build- paintings from collections outside them up to be denounced astotally
ing. As a result, there is in one the U.S.S.R. are being shown, degenerate by the Nazis, and
special room 17 Rembrandts, in- V.I. Lenin characterized the helped open the way for Nazi
cluding a number of the great late Avant-Garde as a "leftwing infan- anti-intellectual purges.
paintings. Among the five Rem- tile disorder" that was plaguing Like the counterculture of the
brandts in the traveling exhibit are the Russian nation in 1921. Its art- past 20 years in this country, this
Belshazzar's Feast painted in 1626, ists wanted to build fantastic, sci- movement claimed to be a politi-
an early work; and the Denial of ence-fiction !nspired buildings and cal aswell asartistic revolution. Its
St.Peter. monuments in a country then in artistic methods were totally fo-
Between the exhibition and desperate economic trouble, and cused on "emotions," i.e., the psy-
the installation of the National considered redesigning even such chological effects of masses of
Gallery's permanent collection, householditems as cups and plates strong colors, shapes that became
the visitor in Washington D.C. as "significant" ways of changing unrecognizable, and deliberate
,will have one of the best possible the environment within Russia. primitivism. Expressionist paint-
experiences of Rembrandt's art Malevich, one of the central fig- ings were either deliberately of-
anywhere in the world.,ures of the movement, himself at- fensive or idyllic scenes of naked
The exhibition has been or- tempted to declare the "death" of men and women in the country-
ganized by the Detroit Institute of the creation of pictures by being side. This group despised cities--
Art. After closing at the National the first to eliminate all form and and modern industry and order--
Gallery January 4, 1981, it will be subject whatever from his can- although, of course, they lived in
shown in Detroit from February vases: he painted them entirely parasitic dependence on wealthy
16 through April 19, 1981, and in red, yellow, blue, and finally; patrons and exhibit galleries from
Amsterdam from May 18 through black, those cities.
July 19, 1981. After 1921, the Avant-Garde --MaryLouise McCourt
46 December 1980 /CAMPAIGNER